BY ELIZABETH EDNIE & KELLY LEWIS
When FBI Agents Phil Torsney and Tommy MacDonald were assigned to the case of James J. “Whitey” Bulger in 2009, neither imagined serial numbers from breast implants would help track the Boston fugitive down.
The two were eating breakfast at a hotel during the investigation, talking about the case and wondering if focusing on Bugler’s girlfriend, Catherine Greig, who was on the run with him, would help.
They knew she underwent plastic surgery, including breast implants.
“Imagine if we could figure out what the serial number on her breast implants was,” the now-retired FBI Agent Tommy MacDonald recalled saying to Torsney at the time.
Torsney and MacDonald shared their insights about the case during a visit to the Martin Institute Auditorium on Tuesday, February 8. They talked extensively about how innovative thinking led to the capture of Bulger and his long-term girlfriend Greig in 2011.
Torsney and MacDonald told the roughly 150 people during the talk, sponsored by the Martin Institute of Law and Society, that they obtained a subpoena to get medical records from Greig’s
plastic surgeon. The medical records revealed high-quality photos from varying angles of Greig pre and post-op.
Prior to this, the FBI only had old photos of Greig, making it difficult to identify her.
The agents were able to retrieve the plastic surgery photos and place them in advertisements in plastic surgery and dental trade journals, hoping someone might recognize Greig and contact the FBI with more information.
Those ads didn’t work, but the photos did.
On June 20, 2011, the FBI released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) using those photos and chose different areas of the United States where the pair might be recognized by someone. The story about the announcement was also picked up by newspapers and wire services.
Two days later, the FBI got a tip that Bulger was using the name “Charlie Gasko” and was in Santa Monica, California.
“We get there, we arrested him at a rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica about three blocks from the ocean,” Torsney said. “It was a nice spot and he had been there almost the whole time.”
Authorities found $800,000 hidden in the apartment wall and a cache of guns at the time.
Bulger fled Boston in 1994 after he was tipped off that he would be indicted on federal charges, and was later added to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list in 2009. He was accused of 19 murders, money laundering, and other charges, and was indicted on charges of murder in 2000 along with crimes such as money laundering, extortion, robbery, rape, and more.
“He was smart and was able to stay under the radar. People knew who he was, and a lot of people were intimidated by him,” Torsney said when describing Bulger’s background.
MacDonald said that Bulger had two things that helped make him impossible to find: money, and the ability to travel internationally. Further, he was a master manipulator.
“It made things a little more complicated when we couldn't find him early on,” MacDonald said.
“He manipulated people his whole career,” Torsney said.
Torsney and MacDonald said they talked to everyone they could during the investigation.
“We are big believers in knocking on doors and talking to people, and when you sit in people’s living rooms doing your job, they respect you,” MacDonald said.
Another technique used by the agents was applying personal experience. MacDonald said he knew Greig’s twin sister had to be in contact with her while she was on the run with Bulger, because he is also a twin.
“I have a twin brother, we’re five minutes apart, so when I started studying this case, I was saying there's no way these two twin sisters aren’t going to be in touch with one another when on the run, because you know Irish people like to talk,” MacDonald said.
Greig’s sister didn’t provide any valuable information to lead them to the whereabouts of Bulger and Greig.
After arresting Bulger and his long-time girlfriend Greig, Torsney said he sat next to Bulger on the plane ride from California to Massachusetts. Torsney said Bulger spilled all of his secrets.
“When I asked him why he had so many guns in his apartment his response was ‘I just like guns,’” Torsney said.
“Santa Monica was the perfect place to hide, he blended in, no one bothered him, and there were many homeless people to steal identities from,” Torsney said.
There were a few secrets Bulger kept and took to his grave. He refused to tell the FBI about who helped him in the past because he didn’t want to risk them getting in trouble.
In 2018, Bulger was killed in prison. Grieg was released from prison in 2020.
The talk drew a mix of students, professors, and local community members. Guests were eager to ask the agents questions and eventually had to be cut off as time was limited.
The two retired agents said they loved working in law enforcement.
“We both loved the FBI, it was the job of a lifetime. But this was an important case we needed to solve,” Torsney said.
Photos courtesy of Kelly Lewis and Mary Gettens
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